Tag: James Carr

Fewer suggestions than usual this week, which I’m putting down to either some of the regular contributors being on holiday at the moment, or perhaps to the record to link to being a little uninspiring.

Also, thankfully, you guys seem to have calmed down a little on the multiple suggestion front. Not that I mind, but after last week’s post, I was thinking about introducing a new rule: a maximum of two suggestions per person.

By the way, it seems that Cutpi, my usual file server has completely died, or been closed down, so we’re back to Zippyshare. I have no plans to reupload all of the stuff I’ve previously posted, but if there’s a dead link anywhere back there you’d like me to repost, give me a shout via the Comments section and I’ll think about it.

Anyway no need for me to impose any such rule this week, so let’s get straight on to it. You’ll recall we left it last week with Peter Gabriel’s “I Don’t Remember” as the tune to suggest links to, and first up this week was The Great Gog, who wrote:

“In the process of packing for my hols, so just a simple and very obvious link this week. No Memory by Scarlet Fantastic.”

Have to admit I had completely forgotten all about this tune (no pun intended):

“Do you suffer from long term memory loss? The band asked the singer from Chumbawamba one balmy summer night. I don’t remember was her cheery answer. And thus the single ‘Amnesia’ was born. But of course you have to post the Jimmy Echo version.”

“Peter Gabriel is mentioned in a Vampire Weekend song so we could have ‘A-Punk’ by them…”

(Just so you guys know, me not owning or dis-liking a record/band/artiste is no impediment to them getting posted here, and this is a perfect case in point. As anyone who knows me will attest, I have “a thing” about Vampire Weekend, which I can neither articulate nor reason. There’s just something about them that rubs me up the wrong way. I can’t explain what it is, or why. Anyway, they’ve been asked for, so I have obtained the track in question, and here it is. I’ll give it another listen and see if my mind has changed):

FKA Twigs are one of those acts I’ve heard bandied about, but not actually heard before. So, to balance out my earlier comments about Vampire Weekend, I really like that, and have gone and got me the album on the back of this suggestion. So, y’know, cheers.

“Peter Gabriel has released four self-titled albums (to date), and “I Don’t Remember” is track four on the third of them. Weezer have released four self-titled albums (to date) and “Heart Songs” is track four on the third of them.”

I have a theory about Weezer, and it is this: all their best tunes are on their self-titled albums (or the ones sub-titled with a colour). Discuss.

Next we have What’s It All About, Alfie? who wrote “…my first ever live concert (as a kid) was The Bay City Rollers and one of their first hits was “Remember” but best not to go there probably or else you will lose most of your followers!”

With thanks to Charity Chic for stepping in and pointing out “If Chesney [Hawkes] featured [last week] there is surely a place for the Rollers!”

Just as me not owning/disliking a record is no impediment to it getting posted here, neither is a suggestion being uber-cheesy. For much as we all enjoy hearing the cool or clever tracks that are often posted here, so I enjoy revisiting some of these old singles that might make us cringe and hide behind our fingers. If I could direct you all to the tag-line to this blog and repeat the mantra: “There’s no such thing as a Guilty Pleasure”

So yes, there is a place for them here (although my apologies, the mp3 is a little on the quiet side):

“Can I have a second go, linking to a prog rock band that features a flute playing lead singer?”

Such manners! Asking before making a second suggestion! Of course you can!

“Thanks. Here you are. On that Peter Gabriel album Dave Gregory played guitar. Dave Gregory was in XTC. He is now a member of prog band Big Big Train (whose lead vocalist Dave Longdon is an all-round decent bloke, an ex-colleague of mine, and a multi-instrumentalist – he can, for example, play the flute!), one of whose songs is Make Some Noise (which has some fine flute-ing)”

Okay, okay. You got me. Totally tucked me up like a kipper there, George. Of course, I figured he was going for Jethro Tull, but no.

“That’s also Robert Fripp playing guitar on ‘I Don’t Remember’. A year earlier, in 1979, Fripp released a solo LP, ‘Exposure’. ‘Exposure’ features guest vocals from Peter Gabriel, Terre Roche (of The Roches), Peter Hammill and Daryl Hall. The latter co-wrote and sings on ‘You Burn Me Up I’m a Cigarette’.”

And secondly, and more magnificently, even if I do say so myself, and continuing Charity Chic’s biblical suggestion, Gabriel was of the name of the angel of the Lord in that fantasy thriller The Bible, so here’s a song about an angel:

Okay, so all that’s left to do is post the record which officially followed Peter Gabriel’s “I Don’t Remember”, which none of you got, although S-WC came mightily close to bagging the bonus points this week. Close but no cigar.